OXFORD, Ohio - History was
not meant to be made Thursday afternoon at Miami Soccer Field, as the Miami
University women's soccer was set to cap a perfect Mid-American Conference
regular season, but Ball State held strong in playing the RedHawks to a 1-1
double-overtime draw. The tie snaps Miami's school-record 11-game win streak as
the RedHawks finish league play 10-0-1, becoming just the second team in MAC
history to go undefeated in league play, joining the 2009 Central Michigan team
that went 9-0-2.

The RedHawks (16-2-1), who
had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament and the
regular-season title outright, will face eighth-seeded Ohio in the
quarterfinals on Sunday at Miami Soccer Field. The Cardinals (8-6-5, 5-3-3 MAC)
finished as the No. 5 seed for the tournament and play at fourth-seeded Kent State
Sunday.

Miami had numerous chances to
the win match in regulation and in overtime, but the RedHawks could not find
the back of the net a second time, despite outshooting Ball State, 20-11, including
6-3 in the extra sessions. The 'Hawks also had eight corner kicks to the
Cardinals' five.

"I don't think we brought the
energy required to win the game. I thought we lacked a bit of focus and a bit
of competitive spirit. Winning games is hard and it takes everything you've got
and we played about 60-70 percent all day today," head coach Bobby Kramig said.
"We had a couple of moments and certainly we had chances and the goal we gave
up was silly but very representative again of a lack of focus."

The RedHawks started the
match well as freshman Haley Walter (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored just 10:38 into
the contest to put Miami up, 1-0. After earning a corner kick, senior captain Jess Kodiak (Naperville, Ill.) sent in a perfect cross from the corner that Walter
hammered home with her head from just outside the middle of the six-yard box
for her eighth goal of the year.

In the 22nd
minute, Miami nearly doubled its lead as junior Katy Dolesh (Chardon, Ohio) was
able to split the defense after receiving a perfect through ball but her shot
sailed high over the crossbar. The Cardinals then pulled even in the 38th
minute on a miscue by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Allison Norenberg
(Palatine, Ill.). Alyssa Ables fed the ball up to Morgan Whitfield, who
dribbled toward goal from the left flank. She fired from 15 yards with a
RedHawk defender on her side but the ball slipped through Norenberg's hands and
over the line to level the game at 1-1.

The two sides went into
halftime even with the 'Hawks taking five shots to BSU's three. The Cardinals
scored on their only shot on goal of the half while Ball State keeper Aubrey
Buehler made one save in the first 45 minutes. Miami also earned three corner
kicks in the first frame.

As the second half
progressed, Miami steadily picked up the intensity, consistently keeping pressure
in the Cardinal end of the field. With just over 10 minutes remaining in
regulation, the RedHawks had their best chance to break the deadlock as junior
Kayla Zakrzewski (London, Ont.) created a 2-on-1 break with Walter. Zakrzewski drew
the lone Cardinal defender and dished to Walter, who was open in front of the
net, but her blast rose over the crossbar keeping the game tied.

Zakrzewski nearly ended it in
the 83rd minute but her shot hit the post. Ball State then had their
best chance with three minutes left in regulation as Jasmine Moses sent in a
long-range bomb but Norenberg made a diving save and the game went to overtime.

Miami controlled the
overtimes for the most part, firing four shots in the first extra session to
BSU's none, but Buehler, who finished with seven stops, made two saves, forcing
a second overtime. Norenberg, who totaled four saves, made half of them in the
second overtime, including one with just over a minute remaining, to preserve
the draw as Miami couldn't score on either of its shots in the final 10 minutes
of overtime.

"I'm not particularly happy
with the way we've been playing the last two games," Kramig said. "It's going
to take a bit of refocusing on our part. We've worked very hard to get to this
point in the season and we're not walking away from it. I'm confident we still
have a lot of good soccer left in us."

The RedHawks now turn their
attention to the MAC Tournament and the eighth-seeded Bobcats, as kickoff is
set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Miami Soccer Field. Tickets for the tournament game
are $3 for children 18 and under and $5 for adults while all students of MAC
institutions get in free with their student ID. Should Miami win Sunday, it
would then host the remainder of the MAC Tournament with the semifinals Friday,
Nov. 2 and the championship Sunday, Nov. 4.